Conventional article transfer systems are known that transfer articles along a designated path. An example of such an article transfer system is a conveyor system that is adapted to transfer articles from an origin to a destination. Another known article transfer system involves a transverse orientation of rollers that rotate in the direction of the intended path and thereby transfer the rotational motion to the article passing thereover.
It is becoming increasingly common to integrate these article transfer systems into automated packaging devices. A wide range of such automated packaging devices is in use today. While these systems do transfer articles from one location to another, these systems do not sufficiently align or orient the articles when multiple articles are stacked by or within the system. For at least this reason, the stacked articles require more packaging material and the like. The present invention was developed in light of these and other drawbacks.